In an issue concerning their water supply and its potential for
contamination, borough officials in Lewis Run are running out of
time.
The borough and the Department of Environmental Protection have
been going round and round over what to do to ensure clean water
for the borough’s residents to drink.
The issue started when the DEP conducted testing of well number
three in the borough during real estate transactions that had been
taking place in the 1990s. At that time, they discovered the
potential for contamination in that well if it should continue to
be used.
Well number three had been drilled in the mid-1990s by the
borough as a supplemental well to work with the existing two wells
and a spring to feed water to the borough. At this time, the
borough continues to pay on a PennVEST loan borrowed to fund the
drilling of the well.
When the DEP found the potential of contamination, they asked
the borough to discontinue its use, which the borough did. The
borough could still rely on a spring and two other wells for the
water supply, so service was not interrupted.
The DEP then looked into alternatives for keeping well three on
line which would have included monitoring the well; treating it for
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which was found to be too costly;
treating the iron and manganese in the other two wells, again a
costly endeavor; or connecting to the city of Bradford’s water
system.
Instead of any of those alternatives, the DEP looked for and
found another site to drill the borough a new well which was done
in 2004, but that well is still not hooked up.
The DEP was able to drill that well using funds from the
Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program.
On Friday, it was discovered that there is an issue with respect
to a right-of-way for lines leading from the new well to the
borough’s water supply. The property owner has apparently been
working with the DEP’s lawyer and his own lawyer to work out some
sort of agreement, but the DEP feels the resolution to any problems
will take at least a couple of years to resolve.
Meanwhile, contamination has been discovered in the borough’s
two other wells. Due to residential complaints, including odor and
taste of water, borough officials had their two usable wells
tested.
DEP found that the wells contained Benzene, a carcinogen and
component of gasoline. On Friday, Brad Vanderhoof, P.E., regional
manager of water supply management of the DEP said that they found
that the measurement of contaminants of Benzene was at 3 points
when the health hazard would be considered at 5 points.
“We were surprised to find Benzene in the two tests we did for
wells one and two,” said Vanderhoof. “We did a third test
yesterday. But the spring is still active.”
At this time, officials are looking to the future to see what
they can do to make sure residents have clean water to drink when
and if the spring stops running in the drier summer months.
DEP officials said they had hoped to be able to rely on those
two wells as needed until the recent contamination was found. Now
the situation of providing water to Lewis Run residents has become
more of an emergency.
The DEP has suggested the borough hook up to the Bradford City
water supply as a precautionary measure to supply borough residents
with water if necessary, and as they continue to find ways of
helping the borough recover expenditures and find a way for them to
supply water to their residents.
Borough officials feel this move would only ensure the
possibility of getting to the point of no return where they would
have to use Bradford City water on a daily basis rather than having
a borough water supply for their residents.
Lewis Run Borough Council Chairman Frank Langianese said Friday
that the borough had tried to connect to Bradford City water in the
past when the lines were put in to supply water to Federal
Correction Institution McKean. He said at that time, they were told
that they could not connect to it.
Kim Benjamin, Executive Director of the Bradford City Water
Authority, said Friday that he recalled that there had been some
informal meetings with Lewis Run borough officials and the
engineers for the water authority at the time of the construction
of the water lines leading to the prison.
“I don’t remember that tone back then, but complications were
possible in regards to the system that had been in place in Lewis
Run at that time,” said Benjamin.
During the meeting Friday between borough officials and members
of the DEP, it was mentioned that the borough had a different
system working in the borough at one time. Whether this was a
reason for connection difficulties at the time of water line
extension to the prison is not known.
For their part in the contamination of water in the borough,
McCourt Label Cabinet Co. has made an agreement with DEP to pay
more than $100,000 over a 20-year period plus two percent of the
company’s net profit between the years 2014 and 2033 to resolve its
liability for the site.
As reported in June of 2005, the agreement also said McCourt
Label would have to implement an environmental management system at
the Lewis Run facility.
There has been no other resolution of responsible parties for
the contamination at this time.
Assistant counsel for the DEP, Douglas G. Moorhead, said Friday
that there were very few responsible parties still operating in
Lewis Run, but that they have continued negotiations with Control
Chief as a potential responsible party.
Lewis Run likely to use Bradford City water as supplemental
water source
Lewis Run Borough will likely be using Bradford City water as a
supplemental water source during the dry months of the summer.
Officials of the Department of Environmental Protection have
proposed that the borough accept this temporary solution while they
continue to look into the problem of the borough’s wells and
potential or outright contamination.
At a meeting held Friday at the municipal building in Lewis Run
Borough were State Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, State Rep. Martin
Causer, R-Turtlepoint, and Howard C. Brush, director of the
governor’s Northwest Regional Office.
Representing the DEP were at least eight members with different
areas of expertise concerning the situation in the borough and
water contamination.
Recently, the borough discovered that two wells being used as
part of the water supply were contaminated with Benzene. This
situation only exacerbates official’s efforts to supply their
residents with clean drinking water as a well they drilled in the
mid-1990s has been found to have contaminate potential and a well
that DEP drilled for the borough is not yet connected because of
right-of-way complications and expense potential.
Hooking to the Bradford City water supply poses problems as it
will entail a cost to the borough and because borough officials
believe that once the borough is connected to city water, the
borough will eventually reach a point of no return in working to
supply residents with drinking water on their own.
Following a brief description of the situation of contamination
as it started in Lewis Run, officials discussed how they could move
forward.
“We want to tackle this problem in a way it doesn’t break the
bank and it is approved in a way to get us down the road,” said
James D. Rozakis, assistant regional director of the DEP.
When Scarnati asked how the Benzene might have contaminated the
two other wells, DEP officials said they have not yet found a
reason, but did admit that the borough seems to have a problem with
its spring after it rains.
Causer asked if treating or filtering the Benzene were an option
and DEP officials said it would be at costs in the hundreds of
thousands.
“It may not even be a surface water issue,” said Brad
Vanderhoof, P.E., regional manager of the water supply management
area of the DEP. “There are some fairly expensive options and both
wells have different concentrations (of Benzene.)”
In regards to the problem the DEP faces with the land owner and
getting a right-of-way for the water lines from the well they
drilled to the borough water supply, Lewis Run Borough Council
Chairman Frank Langianese asked DEP officials why they had not done
the right paperwork before deciding to drill that well.
Officials said they had to find an area that would supply the
borough with quality water, but could not answer to the mistakes of
the previous DEP officials on the project.
DEP officials did say that opening well number three, the one
drilled by the borough for use, would not be considered due to its
potential in contamination.
Officials then said they could use Hazardous Cleanup sites funds
to get the borough hooked to the Bradford City water supply, but
were not sure if the funds could be used for securing the
right-of-way for the lines to run from the well drilled by the DEP
through the property of the landowner blocking the connection
process.
Langianese said he thought the borough had a right to express
its desires and not be forced into doing something that it would
rather not do.
Rozakis said the borough did have that opportunity.
Referring to the fourth well drilled by DEP, Langianese said,
“You never followed up on your promise.”
Rozakis said, “It may take years to do it.”
Langianese said, “I have to drink the water here. My family
drinks the water here. We are a small community; I don’t think we
should be stepped on.”
Speaking up for the DEP, the governor’s northwest regional
office director said he knows that DEP officials usually “bend over
backwards” to do things for people but still have to follow
guidelines and directives.
“They are trying to come up with a good way of helping Lewis
Run,” said Brush.
When the DEP was asked its intent going forward by Causer,
Rozakis said it was up to the borough.
Rezakis said that the interconnect with the city water supply
will give the DEP time to look into what it can do to rectify the
situation with the drilled well and the borough.
“I’m going to tell you something – if we interconnect, that will
be the end of our water supply,” said Langianese in response to
what Rezakis said.
Causer said that is why they are there, to be sure the DEP is
committed to doing what the borough wants them to do.
“We are $100,000 in debt for a well we can’t use,” said
Langianese. “We don’t have a choice. You have a noose around our
necks. Can we get a reimbursement for the well? We are the victim,
not the culprit!”
Douglas G. Moorhead, assistant counsel, spoke up, saying that
there have been no other consent orders signed except that of
McCourt Label Cabinet Co. who finalized an agreement with DEP in
Sept. of 2005 for their part in the contamination of the area in
Lewis Run.
Moorhead told the borough officials that they had not found a
basis for retiring the debt of the borough yet.
Borough solicitor Dan Hartle said the borough had hoped the new
well was drilled as a replacement for the one the DEP asked the
borough not to use, but realized that may not be the case.
That was when the issue with the landowner and a right-of-way
for the well the DEP drilled came to light.
Rozakis said they would continue to look into ways to work on
the situation of the borough to provide water for their residents,
if that is what borough officials would like to see happen.
Borough officials agreed they wanted to be able to supply their
residents water on their own in the future, but would agree to use
city water on a temporary basis.
